Frank vows a ‘fight’ if Republicans refuse Dodd-Frank funding

Democrats scored a major legislative victory last year when they passed a Wall Street reform package, but Republicans have indicated that they may not give the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) the increased budgets they requested to accommodate their new responsibilities. The agencies requested hundreds of millions of dollars in new budget authority to hire hundreds of new employees to help write rules and enforce provisions of the law.

The incoming Financial Services Committee Chairman, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), has indicated he wants to revisit Dodd-Frank in the new Congress.

The agencies would have received increases in their budgets under a $1.1 trillion omnibus bill introduced by Democrats during the lame duck session. However, that measure was shelved due to insufficient support.

Instead, Congress approved a short-term continuing resolution that simply kept the government funded at fiscal 2010 levels until March 4. That means that when Congress revisits the budget, it will do so with Republicans controlling the House.